5 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. DH.85 Leopard Moth VH-UUE Wangarratta Vic 17.03.88 edited-2: RuthAS· CC BY 3.0
- 2. Leopard Moth G-ACMN: TSRL· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 3. De Havilland DH-85 Leopard Moth AN0231814: Alan D R Brown· GFDL
- 4. Model Leopard Moth Arosa: Andres Passwirth· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 5. StateLibQld 2 246312 de Havilland DH.85 Leopard Moth on the runway at Cunnamulla, Queensland, 1939: Pole, Clarence· Public domain
what is it?
The de Havilland DH.85 Leopard Moth is a three-seat high-wing cabin monoplane designed and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company in 1933.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 11.4 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 93 years ago, in 1933.
- Top speed is 1.7× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 11.4 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1933
- introduced
- 1933
- number built
- 133
- role
- three-seat cabin monoplane
- makers
- de Havilland Aircraft Company
- engines
- 1× de Havilland Gipsy Major
- crew
- 1
- passengers
- 2
- length
- 7.5 m
- wingspan
- 11.4 m
- height
- 2.7 m
- max take-off weight
- 1,009 kg
- top speed
- 220 km/h
- cruise speed
- 191 km/h
- range
- —
- ceiling
- 6,553 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q825165, Wikipedia: De Havilland Leopard Moth (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.